How to migrate from Evernote to CapturedIt

Evernote built the category of digital notes, but many long-time users are looking for something leaner and AI-native. Moving years of notebooks takes planning — here is a practical migration path, including what CapturedIt handles well and where you may need workarounds.

Why people leave Evernote

Common reasons we hear: rising subscription costs, slower apps, feature bloat (tasks, calendars, document editing), and limited AI integration. If your core need is capture and retrieval — not a full workspace — a focused tool often fits better.

For a feature-level comparison, see CapturedIt vs Evernote.

Step 1: Export from Evernote

1. Open Evernote desktop (export works most reliably there)
2. Select the notebooks you want to migrate
3. Export as ENEX (Evernote's XML format) — one file per notebook or combined
4. Keep your export files until you verify the migration

Step 2: Import into CapturedIt

CapturedIt does not yet offer one-click ENEX import. Today's workflow:

1. Convert ENEX to HTML using a free converter (several open-source tools handle this) or export individual notes as HTML from Evernote where available
2. Email the HTML files to save@capturedit.app or upload via the web dashboard
3. AI processing generates summaries and categories for each imported note

Native ENEX import is in development. Contact support if you have a large library — we can help with bulk migration options.

Step 3: Rebuild your capture workflow

• Install the Chrome or Safari extension for web clipping
• Set up mobile share targets for quick capture on the go
• Connect ChatGPT or Claude via MCP (Vault) if AI-powered recall is part of your workflow

What transfers cleanly

• Plain text and formatted notes
• Web clips and article saves
• Attached PDFs and images (as file captures)
• Tags (as metadata where preserved in export)

What may need manual attention

• Handwritten notes: CapturedIt does not have a handwriting canvas. Image files with handwriting can be stored and OCR-processed for search, but it is not a replacement for Evernote's ink features.
• Complex Evernote tables and layouts: May simplify during HTML conversion. Review important notes after import.
• Shared notebooks: Re-share individual items from CapturedIt if needed (Pro+ share links).

After migration: search instead of browse

Evernote users often relied on notebook hierarchy. CapturedIt is designed for search-first retrieval — full-text on Starter, semantic search and Just Ask on Pro+. Give yourself a week of searching before rebuilding folder structures; you may find you need less organization than you expect.